MILWAUKEE — Owner Dick Monfort hated the loss but liked the math as it applied to Jhoulys Chacin.

Before the bullpen dissolved before the Rockies’ eyes Monday, Chacin turned in a performance that ran contrary to his uninspired spring. The right-hander worked into the seventh inning, allowing just a single run on three hits. The idea that he would be around late seemed ambitious after he threw 24 pitches in the first inning.

“And then he needed just 70 the rest of the way. That was impressive,” Monfort said.

Chacin looks similar to the pitcher he was a year ago, but could not be more different. He has a new, two-year, $6.5 million contract, new tattoos — which honor his family — and a desire to show that this is not the same old Rockies rotation.

He followed the scouting report diligently Monday, letting the Brewers’ impatience work against them. The right-hander employed several sliders and changeups. He finished with six strikeouts, matching his season high from a year ago, also against the Brewers.

“I knew they would be aggressive, so I wanted to use my changeup and slider a little more,” said Chacin, who posted an 8.44 Cactus League ERA, and was hit hard in his last tuneup by Oakland. “I wasn’t happy with the walks (three), but I gave my team a chance to win.”

Chacin lowered his career ERA to 3.63, lowest in franchise history for a starter with a minimum 100 innings pitched. He’s a tick below Ubaldo Jimenez (3.66).

“He was great especially as it got deeper into the game. He really settled in,” manager Walt Weiss said. “That’s a real bright spot for him to go out and have a game like that.”

Troy joined The Denver Post in 2002 as the Rockies' beat writer and became a Broncos beat writer in 2014 before assuming the lead role before the 2015 season. He is a past president of the local chapter of Baseball Writers Association of America and has won more than 20 local and national writing awards since graduating from the University of Colorado journalism school with honors in 1993.

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